Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin is in New Delhi to meet with government officials there about acquiring Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa's 67 percent controlling stake in Hutchison Essar. Sarin said Voda is also open to a partnership with the Essar group, which holds the remaining 33 percent stake in the Indian mobile carrier. Sarin said he will make a formal bid early next month. Last week, Vodafone announced that it had evaluated all of Hutchison Essar at between $17 billion and $18 billion, which would make the potential takeover the largest in Indian history.

For more on Voda's potential Essar bid:
- see this IHT article